Winning often looks like a long trail of losses that were too weak to keep you down. We are beyond inspired by the stories below. Resilience cannot capture the true nature of what so many of these entrepreneurs, artists and creatives possess and there is so much to learn from the folks highlighted below.

Kurriizma (Hector Diaz)

Kurriizmatic for me started 4 years ago on November 30th 2020. I had to create my entire senior collection from scratch during the height of the pandemic. I had no money, no support, and only being able to use what was around me.

Through all the odds I created one of
The most memorable collections in my schools history. Being featured in major publications and gathering me the momentum to start my brand. Read more>>

Nneoma Onyekwele

I’ve always been passionate about storytelling. Back in secondary school and university, I lived for the stage. Every semester, I performed on stage, immersing myself in theatre and loving the magic of live performance. But after graduating, I took a detour into the corporate world because, you know, life. Read more>>

Yungg Lee

I started back in 2013. I just believe in myself I’ve always had a tremendous support system so I was able to keep moving forward in my journey and still having a passion for music so that’s why I’m so blessed today. Read more>>

Adrian Mompoint

First thing I’d like to say is thank you for having me again and allowing me to tell my story on a deeper level for the readers on how I became who I am today.

I was born and raised in Worcester, Massachusetts which is considered the cultural capital of central Massachusetts and the second most populous city in New England. When people would ask me where I’m from I used to say Boston because it sounded “cool”, and I felt no one has ever heard of Worcester. Now that I’m older I am proud to be from ‘The Heart of the Commonwealth’ and will tell anyone who asks. Read more>>

Buddha Mei

My story begins with a deep passion for music and art that’s been with me since childhood. I was in the choir in church, enrolled in music and dance classes which then led me to studying Vocal Performance at LaGuardia Performing Arts High School, where I developed a foundation in music, and later explored Film/Media Studies and Psychology at Hunter College. Now I am working towards my certification with the International Sound Therapy Association to receive my certification for Sound Therapy which I will be receiving in March of 2025. My creative path has always been multifaceted—I’ve worked as a model, a makeup artist, and a filmmaker, each role shaping the artist I am today. Read more>>

Jaime Bugbee

My journey has been anything but linear, and it all started with my first major life transition—becoming a mother. After spending 17 years as a dental hygienist, I felt the weight of burnout, especially after experiencing postpartum depression with my first child. I found myself craving more flexibility and the ability to be present with my family. Read more>>

Kunwar Prithvi Singh Rathore

I am a photographer and artist based in New York who sometimes enjoys ceramics and painting as a hobby.

Born in a small town called Budaun in India, I was always a creative child. As the youngest of five siblings, I spent my early years drawing, painting, and doing DIY crafts with my brother. I was also fascinated by science and wildlife documentaries. One of my fondest memories is watching the Indian adaptation of Art Attack on Disney, hosted by Gaurav Juyal, a renowned animator and artist who became a huge inspiration to me. My brother and I would tune in every Sunday morning, meticulously noting the supplies we’d need to recreate the featured art projects. Around the same time, I began writing poetry—something that would later become integral to my current artistic practice. Read more>>

Rachel Thomas-Medwid

Growing up, I was always drawn to the arts. Along with my primary focus on creative writing, I trained as a classical pianist and was in a dance troupe in college and beyond. The act of creating something out of nothing never fails to give a thrill; whether it’s choreography, a piece of music, a short story, or a film. Read more>>

Elizabeth Tufegdzich

Almost 10 years ago, I joined The Leadership Agency. I’ve always aspired to be a leader, to have a seat at the table where key decisions are made—and this role has given me exactly that. A lot of people who don’t know me personally wouldn’t know how deep my struggles with anxiety have been and the personal journey that shaped me along the way. Read more>>

Tanya Gorlow

I knew I wanted to get into the arts since I was a kiddo, but I got serious about acting in junior high and high school. I got my BA in theatre and moved to Los Angeles to break into the biz. It was in LA that I learned how much I love the stage, and while there are certainly some very wonderful things about working on-camera, having the time to explore a role, making discoveries during multiple performances, and sharing a story with different audiences is what really interests me. Read more>>

Shane Lara

I was born in the year 1998. My father is of Native descent but never knew of his tribal roots and my mother is Italian. Spoken word has always been a part of me for as long as I can remember and is deeply intertwined with my Native American identity though I wasn’t able to reclaim it until I was 20 years old. Though I had no sense of my history, I found my love of spoken word at a very young age in kindergarden. I loved learning new bigger words and making those words rhyme together. I didn’t pay much attention to my talents at the time as it just felt like a fun activity but this began to change when I found a love for Hip-Hop music. I loved the metaphores, similes and rhyme schemes that I heard from the artists my dad listened to like Kool Moe Dee along with Grandmaster Flash. Read more>>

Becky Gibler

I feel like my story is two parts – before my partner Pam died, and after she died. The after has probably shaped me more than the before, so I will focus more on that.

Pam died in July of 2020, and since that time, I feel that I have become more loving, compassionate, and patient. I am more resilient than I ever imagined. The grief process has been terrible but also life-changing in an incredible way. Read more>>

Justin Nguyen

My name is Justin Nguyen, and I live in the vibrant city of San Jose, California. My journey into the world of photography began long before I ever picked up a camera. As a child, I would often sit for hours poring over my mom’s old photo albums. Each photograph was a portal to a different time and place, sparking my imagination as I wondered about the stories behind each captured moment. Read more>>

Halleh Amiralai

In 2006, I found myself at a crossroads in life. I had been working in the fashion industry, in the wholesale, ready-to-wear business at Chanel. With a dream of becoming a yoga instructor, I briefly left New York City for India.

While there, I visited The Gem Palace – one of the most respected jewelry houses in Jaipur – and immediately knew that I wanted to enter the world of jewelry. Read more>>

Sara Pizzi

I’m a contemporary choreographer, dancer, and dance teacher. My career started in my teen years with street-style dance, being part of the dance agency “Spotlight Work Team,” which allowed me to perform for national events, competitions, TV shows, and advertisements commercials. Therefore, my career had a drastic change of direction once I moved to New York in 20217. My education has become primarily based on ballet & modern techniques, landing on the complete focus on the study and application of contemporary dance, being able to create an organic and unique style that mixed my urban background with a more academic and technical aspect. Read more>>

Anne Marie Ceralvo

My first instrument was the violin. It was via these lessons that I was introduced to the concept of “harmony,” and ever since then I’ve been obsessed. Piano lessons lasted briefly, and several years I discovered that singing is fun, especially with other people. My love affair with music has always been on and off since childhood, but once the 2020 pandemic hit, the realm of music made its way back into my life, tenfold. Since 2020, my friends and I have released two LPs, I’ve garnered a handful of clients for session work, collaborated with talented producers and lyricists, and finally dove into the world of DJ_ing, after years of hesitation. I’m happy with where I’m at, and I look forward to creating more music! Read more>>

Md Tapon Mahamud Jony

From Tinkering to Olympics: My Journey in Broadcast Engineering

Since my childhood, my dream was to become a computer engineer. I always loved playing with tech gadgets, taking apart new toys, and repurposing transistors, capacitors, and motors. This tinkering sparked my curiosity and led me to discover my interest in programming languages like C++, Visual Basic, and web development while I was a Polytechnic student back in 2004. Read more>>

Richard Dent IV

I moved around a lot as a young kid but spent most of my childhood in Lafayette, CA. The people around me were, and still are, my mom, dad, sister, and various dogs. As a child, I loved playing dress-up as different characters. After watching a movie, I would be inspired by a character, gather whatever costume elements I could find, and do my best to become that person. As I grew older, I was naturally drawn and guided to the visual and performing arts. Although I was athletic and played many sports, I felt a bit out of place; the competitive aspect never resonated with me, but the arts allowed me to thrive. Read more>>

Taylor Stoneman

I started painting four years ago as a pandemic coping mechanism. Doing so opened up my vision, unlocking a new part of my brain and helping me see the earth and her unending colors, textures, and patterns in a new light, and I quickly fell in love. Since that gentle beginning, I have expanded my practice by taking classes, painting on bigger and bigger canvases, experimenting with new mediums, applying for and being accepted into exhibitions, and marketing my work both at small artisan markets and large fine art fairs. Embracing a career as a creative and channeling my energy into making art that represents who I am, what I feel, and how I dream feels limitless, like what I can make is only bound by what I deem possible. Read more>>

Marcia Lorente Howell

I’m a modern impressionist, I paint landscapes from my life, oil on canvas. I’m the granddaughter of two women painters, one from Kansas City and one from Vinaros, a little town off the Eastern coast of Spain. I’ve painted my entire life, won some award as a kid back in Spain even. I grew up in Madrid and live between San Francisco, New York City and Europe. I’m obsessed with color and with capturing movement and light. My body of work is my postcard collection of all the places I’ve been lucky enough to have walked my dog Elvis in. I take photos with my phone and then capture the feeling of what I saw. If you look closely Elvis is almost always hiding somewhere in the painting. He’s my muse and my best friend. Read more>>

Vincent Steinbach

For most of my life, I’ve always been a creative person, whether it’s drawing, creating worlds and characters through writing or LEGOs, playing piano/keyboard, or even occasionally delving into the realm of poetry. Although it was something I struggled with and eventually overcame through the generous support of friends and family, autism has been something that has also helped me in reaching my creative potential. Creativity has helped get through hardships and much like autism, has inspired me to stand out and embrace being different. It has led me to take interest in stories that are unique in a way that they really stand out to where you can’t really pinpoint as to what it is. It’s given me an appreciation for things that are overlooked by most people. Read more>>

Diana Care

Being born and raised in Las Vegas I was always in a swimming pool as a child. I started competitive synchronized swimming at age 11 and the same year got into acting. After I gradusting high school I trained with the Santa Clara Aquamaids for 2 years before attending Ohio State. I did synchronized swimming at Ohio State for 3 years and majored in theater. We won NCAA’s my junior year! After I graduated college I moved to LA and pursued a career in entertainment. I was fortunate to work as a professional synchronized swimmer and actress doing live shows, music videos, commercials and films! In 2017 I wanted to create my own type of style and add my own personal flair to the art of synchronized swimming. Read more>>

Victoria Veedell

From a young age, I was always creating—whether molding animals out of clay, drawing imaginary worlds, crocheting hats and scarves for my dolls, or designing my own clothes in high school. My hands needed to be busy, always immersed in some form of creative expression. College marked a turning point where I began to focus more seriously on art, especially painting. My painting professor recognized my dedication, and in my last semester, I served as an unofficial TA to the freshman painters. Despite my passion, the concept of being an artist was still nebulous to me, with no clear path laid out. After graduating with a BFA in painting, I spent a transformative summer in France, including a month at the traditional painting atelier, Ecole Albert Defois, in the Loire Valley. There, I realized formal painting wasn’t for me, and I spent most of my time riding a bike, photographing, and painting small watercolor studies of the countryside. This experience ignited my love for using the landscape as inspiration. Read more>>

Virginia Crouse

I first fell in love with dance when I watched the “Barbie in the 12 Dancing Princesses” movie. From a very young age, I loved music and moving to everything I heard and finally at the age of 8 years old I took my first dance class.
I didn’t start taking dance seriously until the age of 10 and that’s when I truly became set on becoming a professional dancer; I’ve always loved inspiring people and making viewers feel something while I dance and that will always be my goal is to be an inspiration to someone and to make people feel when they watch me dance. Read more>>

Eric Dillman

From the age of eight, I have nurtured a passion for architecture and design. My academic journey led me to Indiana University of Pennsylvania, where I studied Interior Design. Upon graduation, I secured a full-time position as an Interior Designer, thanks to my senior portfolio. Like any professional path, advancement required effort and initiative, which I found lacking in my early employment experiences. Consequently, I sought opportunities proactively. Read more>>

Lisa Solomon

How did my creative journey start? I think like a lot of people. I made things with my family – mostly my mom and grandma starting from a very young age. They both were adept at crochet and knitting and making things. I learned to fix things with my grandpa also early on. I think the willingness to take things apart and take chances, and trust that I can get something to work evolved from time spent with him. My dad inspired a love of research and the desire to understand not only what we easily relate to, but that which might be outside of our comfort zone. I’ve always been curious about how things work and art is often a way for me to understand the world around me and to invite others to a hopefully bigger conversation. Read more>>

Luana Seu

I am a Romanian photographer currently based in NYC and Europe. My work has won prestigious awards such as the Jurors Picks of the Lens Culture Awards and a finals nomination for the ReFocus Awards in Color Photography 2023. I am now 26 and I realized that I have been doing photography for over 10 years. I am almost there, the point I can talk to my little self and tell her ” it will be alright, listen to your instincts because only with trust you will continue walking safely. You are protected by your choices. Just keep doing it. ” Read more>>

Hannah Schneider

My journey began in corporate America. I remember my first day at Salesforce, working in the finance department. I thought to myself ‘if I have to do this everyday for the rest of my life, I simply won’t make it.’ I had no idea how people could feel happy and fulfilled going into an office 5 days per week, 8-9 hours/ day. What a waste of time, I thought. Read more>>

LeeAnn Stromyer

Cut back to 2016– I had just finished my third year of teaching art when I decided I was finally going to start my photography business. I was in the thick of researching how to make it “official” when the unthinkable happened: my mother was unexpectedly diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer – too advanced to treat she passed just six weeks from the first ER visit. The worst part of all? Our relationship was estranged, and it had been for years.  Read more>>

Sukey Molloy

Regarding the flow of my life, I guess I could be called a late bloomer. My early years were sprinkled with a combination of unusual opportunities and experiences, as well as familial challenges. Put together, these circumstances have given me a wealth of perceptions that offered rich material to work with. Growing up I was surrounded by the performing arts and the great outdoors. To this day my heart still lives in those two places. My mother had a career in music and arts administration, and my father was a decorated naval officer. Read more>>

Björn VW

I relocated to the United States in 2005 and began my journey working as a server at a prestigious country club in the heart of Florida. Juggling responsibilities in both New York and Florida, I found my way to California before realizing that it was New York City that truly captured my heart. It was in this vibrant and dynamic city that I decided to plant my roots, establishing a flourishing career as an Event Planner. Read more>>

Jared Hale

I began making costumes as a child. I would dress up as my favorite character at the time and just have fun. As I grew older I began to draw more than to make costumes. It wasn’t until 2014 that I started making costumes again. I started with Eva Foam and still use it to this day although my skills have greatly improved since then. Read more>>

Olivia Nunn

Olivia Nunn Communications officially launched on March 30, 2021, though I began working on it full-time in February 2023. My journey to this business is deeply rooted in my 20 years of service as a US Army Officer, which laid the foundation for my current work.

I retired from the Army in September 2021 after serving in diverse and challenging roles, including three deployments to Iraq, assignments at Fort Hood, the United States Military Academy at West Point, and the Pentagon. Throughout my career, I have held various positions as a chemical officer and public affairs officer, leading teams and managing strategic communications. Read more>>

Randall Cole

My name is Randall Cole, I am a visual artist specializing in photography, videography & digital media. I work with a plethora of independent organizations to showcase their brands and I am a part of WQED’s Film Academy (Pittsburgh’s Local PBS station) as a teaching artist. In addition to my creative work, I am also actively involved in music, acting & modeling. Read more>>

Samar Johnson

I am a proud “failed academic.” I left my PhD program in enthomusicology after completing all of my coursework that left me in the wake of serious mental, physical and emotional burnout. As much as I wanted to be designed for that trajectory, the fact of the matter is it was too limiting in its scope. I am a shadow holder. I am someone who walks the sliver distance between the land and sea. I meet people where they are at and do my best to mirror their unique and divine glory. As much as I wanted academia to be a modality for me, I couldn’t bend to their rules without almost breaking. Read more>>

Amanda Yoa

WELL..Talk about it’s giving, “started from the bottom now we’re here,” vibes.. Talk about stepping into your GLOW UP era! lived a majority of my young adult life being a shell of a person – I’m talkin’ I was the top of the class in Depression & Anxiety with a Heavy Sprinkle of Panic Disorder 101. I was 300+lbs, no life direction, no sense of happiness, joy, passion and purpose..Living my life through the eyes of other people’s expectations.. UNTIL ONE DAY – I made the decision to choose MORE! I shuffled into my joy, my confidence, my worth. I found my voice, my passion and purpose and NOW I GET DOWN on that dance floor of L I V I N’! Read more>>

Erica Robinson

To pick a chapter that is most relevant to the place that I am now means I only have to go back four years.
At that time, in the year 2020, when most people saw Covid as a time of great distress, I saw it as a way out. I was in a marriage that was secretly drowning in immense sorrow, but I put on a front for the church, friends, and business colleagues. We were very popular in the Seattle, and Tacoma WA. areas. We owned two businesses, both for significant amounts of time. First, a gospel music show and the other an international semi pro basketball team. Read more>>

Marion Maenner

It must be my creative nature and the urge to explore and experience new aspects of life, leading me on a journey from being born in Germany to living in the San Francisco Bay Area today. I have walked in many different shoes from fashion design to traveling to becoming a certified naturopath to creating my art, to becoming a mother. Life is my inspiration and my teacher. The urge to understand its lessons has led me to explore different philosophies and the teachings of our ancestors. Read more>>

Alexis Floyd

I have always loved art and the freedom of expression. Throughout my life, I’ve tried many different methods of creativity and entertainment, but it wasn’t until 2020 that I decided to start pursuing photography professionally. At the time, I had hit what I considered “rock bottom” and had nothing to lose. I ruled that going back to school would be the best route to break into this profession, and I enrolled in a master’s program for photography. It has been an incredible journey so far and I have to give proper credit to those who genuinely encourage and support me. They are the reason I have made it this far. Read more>>

Mike Gray

Hey Good Morning and thanks for taking time to hear a little but of my story. I hope it helps and inspires many others. So I come from a family of intellectuals. My older sister was valedictorian of her high school class and attended ivy league undergrad and law school. My younger sister attended a private college. I however, in the middle of the two, did not like traditional education despite our parents both being very committed educators. I fought about even going to college and almost enlisted in the US Army and what would become the first US Special Forces in 1987. Read more>>